New Year, New Me

With the new year comes new resolutions and many of the same old repeated slogans. A funny favorite of mine to hear is “New year, new me!” And in the life of the believer, this statement is actually true. Sort of. But in the midst of all our excitement and expectation, let’s take a moment to reflect on the faithfulness of God’s character, too: new mercies, new me.

I sat with a friend of mine on New Year’s Day, and together we reminisced on the past year and tried to look forward to the newness and uncertainty of what is to come. In our time together, the apostle Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:17 were called to mind: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” These beautiful and timely words caused hope to arise and served as a reminder of what Christ has done for us already with His great track record of faithfulness.

How have you seen God’s faithfulness this past year?

Philippians 1:6 tells us that He who began a good work in us is faithful to see it on through to the end. I’ve been reminded here in these words that God is not bound by time constraints and therefore doesn’t need a new year to continue this work within us. May we cling tightly to this truth as we shoot to set goals and seek to remain faithful to the race set before us. We will most certainly fail in these endeavors, but His mercies are greater than all our failed and untried attempts combined.

How will you hold fast to His new mercies in this new year?

Lamentations 3:23 proclaims to us that His mercies are new each and every morning. And as we move into this new season, we have to look up and look out to see these steady reminders, reflecting on the truth that His goodness doesn’t look the way we oftentimes expect it to. But He is there, and He is good.

If His mercies are new each morning, then how much mercy awaits us in this new year? 

While we must continue to make space for the pains and grievances of the last year, we still have room to celebrate the new while so much of the old may still remain with us. Collectively, as a people, we have experienced so much sorrow and grief within the last 365 days. However, our hope is eternal and tangible, and everlasting life is still ours for the taking.

So in this new year—as with each and every new day of any month of any year—we are new creations experiencing new mercies by the grace of our God who never, ever changes.